16 Incredible Restaurants in La Crosse, WI You Need to Try
La Crosse sits on the Mississippi River near the meeting of the Black and La Crosse rivers, below bluffs of about 500 feet, with Grandad Bluff rising roughly 590 feet above the city. It was a major brewing town in the 19th century, and Oktoberfest USA has filled the downtown fest grounds in late September or early October since 1961. Eating here means Wisconsin staples. A supper club is an old-school dinner restaurant built around steaks and Old Fashioned cocktails, a fish fry is a Friday fried-fish dinner, and cheese curds are fresh cheddar pieces, often battered and fried. Many of the restaurants cluster downtown around Pearl, Main, State and 3rd streets, with more on the south and north sides.
This guide covers 16 places, from an 1880 railroad freight house and a stone mansion serving French food to Cajun cooking on Pearl Street, a 1980s-themed breakfast pub and a cash-only diner with homemade cinnamon rolls. Ratings and review counts come from each restaurant’s Google listing in October 2026.
Lovechild
Lovechild is a 100-seat restaurant and bar at 300 3rd Street South in downtown La Crosse, known for artsy décor and velvet seating. Chef Jay Sparks, who describes his cooking as contemporary Mediterranean with an emphasis on fresh pasta, was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Midwest in 2018. The menu leans on Wisconsin farms and changes with the seasons.
Rated 4.8 stars from more than 1,000 Google reviews, it is best known for its pasta. The October menu lists pappardelle with gorgonzola cream, pistachio and sage, rigatoni with sausage and n’duja (a spreadable, spicy Calabrian pork sausage), and butternut squash ravioli. Grilled lamb spiedini (skewers) and a braised lamb shank are also on the list. For dessert, look for the French apple cake with rum sauce or the Portuguese cinnamon-sugar doughnuts with lemon curd.
Lovechild is dinner only and closed Sundays according to its listings, so check hours before you go. Its website lists no online booking. Reservations are taken by phone for parties of six to ten, and smaller groups are seated first come, first served, with seats also available at the bar. Arrive early or be ready to wait. It is one of the pricier dinners in town.
Address: 300 3rd St S, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: lovechildrestaurant.com
Digger’s Sting
Digger’s Sting is a classic Wisconsin supper club at 122 3rd Street North. It opened more than 50 years ago under original owner Victor Skaff, who named it for the 1973 film The Sting and for an old friend from New York known as Digger. Inside, a 1920s and 1930s gangster theme plays out with Frank Sinatra on the speakers and photos of celebrities from that era on the walls.
Rated 4.7 stars from more than 1,100 Google reviews, it is known for hand-cut steaks and prime rib carved to order. Other signatures are Digger’s Famous Fettuccine Alfredo, slow-cooked baby back ribs and a snow crab and artichoke dip. Cheese curds come batter-fried, and seafood such as walleye, cod and shrimp can be broiled or beer-battered. The Old Fashioned is the cocktail to order here.
Reservations are taken through Tock, and booking is smart for weekend evenings. Dinner is served Monday through Saturday and the restaurant is closed Sundays, but check hours before you go. The dining room suits both special occasions and an ordinary dinner out. This is one of the pricier steakhouses in town, though the menu also includes pasta and salads for lighter appetites.
Address: 122 3rd St N, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: diggerssting.com
The Freighthouse
The Freighthouse is at 107 Vine Street near the riverfront, in a building the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway put up in 1880 to handle freight. Freight service ended in 1955, and after a renovation the building became a restaurant in October 1978. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and has won a Heritage Award from the La Crosse Historical Preservation Society.
Rated 4.5 stars from more than 2,000 Google reviews, it is a steak and seafood house built around prime rib, served in 12-ounce and 20-ounce cuts while it lasts. The kitchen also does teriyaki steaks, Canadian scallops baked in butter and wine, and Alaskan king crab. Dinners include bread, a salad bar or house salad, and a baked potato, rice or vegetables. Save room for the grasshopper pie or the chocolate mousse pie.
Dinner starts at 5 p.m. on weekdays and 4:30 on weekends, and the bar and lounge open at 4, but check hours before you go. It closes on a few holidays such as Easter and Christmas. The website has no booking link, so call ahead for weekend tables. Live music plays on Friday and Saturday nights. Dinners come as full meals, so the check lands in the usual steakhouse range.
Address: 107 Vine St, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: freighthouserestaurant.com
Le Chateau
Le Chateau is a French restaurant at 410 Cass Street, inside the Mons Anderson Mansion. The east wing of the stone house was built in 1854 and 1855 and was the first stone house in La Crosse. Merchant Mons Anderson bought it in 1861 and enlarged it. The house blends Italianate and Gothic Revival styles, with a central tower under a mansard roof and an arcaded veranda. Tim and Eva Ewers bought the mansion in 2011 and opened the restaurant after nine months of remodeling.
With 4.7 stars from more than 400 Google reviews, it serves French classics. Tim Ewers is the chef, and Eva Ewers, born in France, is a trained sommelier. The current menu includes escargots, seared foie gras with blackberry gastrique (a sweet and sour sauce), French onion soup, lobster pasta, seared duck breast and steak frites. The most unusual main is a bone-in elk loin with lingonberry sauce, and crème brûlée is among the desserts.
Reservations are made by phone or email, since the website has no online booking tool. Dinner is served Tuesday through Saturday and the restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday, though it is wise to check hours before you go. La Cave and La Terrace, two other spaces in the same mansion, have their own menus and hours. This is a pricier, special-occasion dinner.
Address: 410 Cass St, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: lechateaulacrosse.com
Pogreba
Pogreba is a family-run restaurant at 1232 Avon Street, about a block from the north side of downtown. It has served La Crosse since 2011, with a dining room, a bar and lounge, and a quieter mezzanine level. The signature detail is the grill. Steaks are hand-cut, seasoned and cooked over live charcoal, and the smell of burning charcoal reaches you even before you walk in.
Rated 4.7 stars from more than 500 Google reviews, it pairs those charcoal-grilled steaks with seafood and international dishes. The fall 2026 menu lists an eight-ounce filet mignon, a boneless ribeye and tenderloin tips with bacon jam. Starters include lump crab cakes and bacon-wrapped Wisconsin cheese curds, plus a fondue of melted white cheddar. Apple smoked lamb shank, Alaskan king crab legs and a coconut seafood red curry round out the choices.
Reservations are requested through the website’s contact page or by phone. Dinner is served Tuesday through Saturday and the restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday, but check hours before you go. Happy hour runs weekday afternoons Tuesday through Friday, with discounted wine, martinis and small bites at the bar. The mezzanine can host private groups. This is one of the pricier dinners in town.
Address: 1232 Avon St, La Crosse, WI 54603
Website: pogrebarestaurant.com
SAGRA Food and Wine
SAGRA Food and Wine is a trattoria (a casual Italian restaurant) on the second floor at 501 Front Street South in downtown La Crosse. The cooking draws on rustic Roman and Italian dishes, Roman street food and red-sauce classics from the chef’s childhood. Pasta and charcuterie (cured meats) are made in house, and the menu uses Wisconsin dairy, locally milled flour and produce from nearby farms.
Rated 4.7 stars from more than 180 Google reviews, it is the downtown spot for house-made pasta. Dishes that come up often include all-beef meatballs, prosciutto di Parma, milk-braised lamb, chicken Milanese and arancini (fried rice balls), with stone fruit and radicchio as a seasonal starter. For dessert there are tiramisu cake and house-made gelato. The menu changes with the seasons, so treat the sample menu as a guide.
Reservations are made through Resy. SAGRA serves dinner Thursday through Monday and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday, but check hours before you go. The wine list leans toward Italian varietals and low-intervention bottles, and there are cocktails and mocktails. Larger groups book through a separate group bookings page. Expect a mid-priced dinner.
Address: 501 Front St S, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: sagrafoodandwine.com
Flatiron Cafe & Bar
Flatiron Cafe & Bar is a European-inspired café at 321 State Street in downtown La Crosse. Chef and owner Patrick Micheels brings more than 20 years of French and Italian cooking to a menu shaped by farms in the Driftless Region, the hilly, unglaciated corner of southwest Wisconsin. Named suppliers include Hidden Stream Farm, Hidden Springs Creamery, which makes sheep’s milk cheese, and Harmony Valley Farm.
Its 4.7-star rating across more than 100 Google reviews rests on a menu that moves between café comfort food and Italian pasta. At lunch, look for the Flatiron burger with local beef, house pickles and special sauce, plus Belgian-style fries with garlic aioli. Dinner brings pork schnitzel, agnolotti with braised lamb, cacio e pepe with duck confit, steak tartare, ham croquettes and mussels in a Spanish chorizo broth. The beer list leans Belgian.
Lunch is counter service, and at dinner you can order by QR code at the table or have a server. Reservations are available through the website or by phone but are not required, and walk-ins are welcome. It is open Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday, so check hours before you go. After 5 p.m. and on weekends, the Belle Square lot is the easiest place to park.
Address: 321 State St, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: flatironlax.com
Buzzard Billy’s
Buzzard Billy’s has served Cajun and Creole food at 222 Pearl Street since September 1997, in a brick hotel from the 1860s about a block from the Mississippi River. Upstairs, the Starlite Lounge is a 1950s-style cocktail lounge with martinis, wine and single malt scotch, plus live jazz on Saturday nights. The restaurant itself pairs New Orleans-style cooking with a long draft beer list.
Rated 4.6 stars from more than 3,600 Google reviews, it is the downtown place for Cajun cooking. The seafood gumbo, with shrimp, crawfish tails and andouille sausage over rice, is the dish the menu calls a signature. Armadillo eggs (bacon-wrapped chicken tenders stuffed with jalapeño and pepper jack), fried gator fingers, étouffée, jambalaya and shrimp-n-grits fill out the list. There is also poutine with cheese curds, pot roast and gravy, and a bread pudding with brandy cream sauce.
Reservations can be made on the website, and groups can book parties or catering. It is open daily for lunch and dinner, but check hours before you go. Live jazz also plays Thursday evenings from September through May. A nearby parking ramp and street parking are available. Prices are moderate for a downtown dinner, and fried catfish dinners sit on the menu for fish fry fans.
Address: 222 Pearl St, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: lacrosse.buzzardbillys.com
4 Sisters Wine Bar & Tapas
4 Sisters Wine Bar & Tapas Restaurant is at 100 Harborview Plaza in the historic district, across from Riverside Park, with views of the upper Mississippi River and a patio facing the water. The business describes itself as veteran and female owned, founded by four sisters who wanted to bring a more varied kind of dining to the Coulee Region, the bluff country around La Crosse.
Its 4.4-star rating across more than 1,100 Google reviews rests on a long menu of small plates made for sharing. Popular orders include the sweet and spicy bacon-wrapped chicken, the Oaxaca braised chicken quesadilla, bang bang shrimp tacos, avocado with blackened shrimp, walleye cakes and the hot spinach and artichoke dip. There are also pinsa-crust pizzas (a Roman-style flatbread), a baked brie with fig jam and pecans, and full entrées such as salmon and pasta.
The kitchen serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and is closed Sundays, but check hours before you go. The website does not list a reservation policy, so call ahead for large groups. Happy hour runs weekday afternoons, and Saturday brings bottomless mimosas in the late morning. Sit on the patio in good weather. Plates are moderately priced, so a group can order several and share.
Address: 100 Harborview Plaza #100, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: 4sisterslacrossewi.com
The Crow
The Crow is a self-described American gastropub and bourbon bar at 100 3rd Street South. It was voted Best New Restaurant in La Crosse in 2015, and it says it has the largest bourbon selection in the city, along with a rotating craft beer list that includes Wisconsin breweries. The menu is built around more than a dozen specialty burgers, all made fresh to order.
With 4.5 stars from more than 2,700 Google reviews, it is the downtown spot for burgers and cheese curds (fresh cheddar bites, battered and fried). The Water’s Edge cheese curds are battered with Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss beer. Burgers include the Crow, a double with bacon, provolone and fried onions on a pretzel bun, the Fest Burger topped with a Johnsonville beer brat (a bratwurst cooked in beer), and a Mac & Cheese Burger. Sloppy Crow fries and white chicken chili are good sides.
The website does not mention reservations, so plan on walk-in service, and parties of ten or more have a 20 percent gratuity added. The room is casual and moderately priced, and the bar menu lists cocktails, wine and flights for bourbon fans. Check hours before you go, since the kitchen schedule runs later on weekends.
Address: 100 3rd St S, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: thecrowlacrosse.com
The Root Note
The Root Note is a coffee shop, bar and music venue at 115 4th Street South in historic downtown La Crosse, and its website says it has been operating for more than 16 years. Specialty coffee, craft cocktails and season-forward food share the room with live shows. The kitchen closes at 2 p.m. daily, which makes it a breakfast and lunch stop, though it reopens briefly on Wednesdays for trivia.
Rated 4.7 stars from more than 800 Google reviews, it has a menu that works for vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free diners. The biscuit sandwich, with an over-easy egg, white cheddar, greens and aioli plus ham or roasted mushrooms, is the standard order. Crepes are the other draw, such as the So Gouda with sweet potato purée, kale and an egg, and the fall Pumpkin Patch crepe. Black bean veggie chili, a pesto grilled cheese and housemade granola round things out.
Online ordering is available through Toast, and the website lists shows with ticket links, so check the events page before you visit. Check hours before you go: it opens in the morning most days and closes by mid-afternoon, with a later Wednesday. Prices are in line with a downtown café, and a drink or a crepe makes a good midday break.
Address: 115 4th St S, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: therootnotewi.com
JavaVino
JavaVino is a coffee house, wine and cocktail bar and restaurant at 2311 State Road on the south side, close to the hospitals and universities. Tina and Howard Schumaker have owned it since 2009. Executive Chef Charlie George returned in April 2021 and started the annual Wild Game Dinner. It serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, and it has a drive-thru for coffee.
Rated 4.6 stars from more than 1,300 Google reviews, it is best known for its berry streusel and lemon curd waffle. The menu also features a smoky loaded hash with Peruvian-style smoked chicken or hardwood-smoked pork and aji amarillo sauce (a Peruvian yellow chili), a bison burger from Buffalo Gal Ranch, a Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese, and an ahi tuna poke bowl. A new dinner entrée is featured each week.
Tables can be booked through Toast on the website. Breakfast and lunch run on weekdays and brunch on weekends, with dinner on weekdays, so check hours before you go. The drive-thru opens early for coffee. Book ahead for weekend brunch if you are bringing a group. Prices are mid-range, and the menu has vegan and gluten-friendly options.
Address: 2311 State Rd, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: javavinolax.com
The Breakfast Club & Pub
The Breakfast Club & Pub is at 214 Main Street downtown, with a John Hughes and 1980s theme that runs from the décor and movie quotes to menu names like Farmer Ted and Uncle Buck’s Griddle. Eighties music videos and movies play while you wait, and a Magic 8 Ball is on hand for fortunes. It is open daily for breakfast and lunch, serves its full menu all day, and has 16 beers on tap.
With 4.5 stars from more than 1,900 Google reviews, it is the downtown pick for a big breakfast. House-made corned beef turns up in the hash and in a Reuben omelet, and fresh-made biscuits come topped with sausage gravy. Other standouts are the breakfast curds (cheese curds stuffed with bacon, served with maple syrup), potato pancakes with applesauce, chicken and waffle kabobs, and warm donut holes with cream cheese frosting. Tot casseroles are a house specialty.
The pub does not take reservations or call-ahead seating, so expect a wait at weekend brunch. Hours run from early morning to mid-afternoon every day, but check hours before you go. Weekly specials include free bottomless coffee on Mondays and $1 off tot dishes on Thursdays. The menu notes that credit card payments carry a 3 percent merchant services charge, and prices are moderate.
Address: 214 Main St, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: breakfastclub-pub.com
Hungry Peddler
Hungry Peddler is at 3429 Mormon Coulee Road on the south side, in a storefront that dates to 1911. The restaurant opened in December 1976 and keeps an old-time look, with antique photos and vintage beer cans. It serves a breakfast menu and a lunch and dinner menu, and it is known for its hamburgers and for Peddler Brau, a house beer brewed by Capital Brewery.
Rated 4.6 stars from more than 2,200 Google reviews, it is a comfort-food kitchen with a long menu. Popular orders include biscuits and gravy, pancakes and French toast, prime rib hash, and French onion soup, which also tops a French onion burger. At lunch and dinner, look for the Reuben, the meatloaf special, fried cod and bacon-wrapped shrimp. Pair a burger with a glass of Peddler Brau.
Its Google listing has no website, so call (608) 788-1895 for current hours. Listings show it open daily from breakfast into the evening, but check hours before you go. It offers a kids’ menu, take-out and delivery. Prices are modest for a sit-down meal, which makes it an easy family stop on the south side.
Address: 3429 Mormon Coulee Rd, La Crosse, WI 54601
The DAMN TASTY
The DAMN TASTY is a small breakfast and lunch restaurant, coffee shop and caterer at 1217 Caledonia Street on the north side. Plates are built on sourdough and baguettes, with a bakery case that changes daily and coffee from Brewhaha Roasters in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The menu changes with the seasons and inventory, and every dish can be prepared gluten free.
Rated 4.8 stars from more than 200 Google reviews, it is known for the kimchi toast, with kimchi cream cheese, bacon, two fried eggs and chili crisp on sourdough. Also try the Madame & Pepe, a croissant with grilled ham, a sunny egg and parmesan cream, the Turkish on toast with herbed yogurt, poached eggs and chili butter, or the bananas Foster coffee cake. Lunch sandwiches include the hot pickle chicken and the tuna Niçoise.
Service runs Wednesday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch, with last seating and to-go orders at 1:30 p.m., so check hours before you go. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. Guests order at the counter and food is brought to the table, and reservations are not accepted. The restaurant also has a patio. Prices are moderate, and the savory biscuits and puffs in the bakery case make good takeaway.
Address: 1217 Caledonia St, La Crosse, WI 54603
Website: thedamntasty.com
Rosie’s Cafe
Rosie’s Cafe is a small breakfast and lunch diner at 2225 16th Street South that says it has been open for more than 40 years. The room has a truck-stop diner feel, with seats at an open kitchen and cozy booths. The cafe is cash only, with an ATM on site, and its website names the homemade cinnamon roll as its signature sweet treat.
Rated 4.7 stars from 1,400 Google reviews, it is the south side’s classic breakfast counter. Popular orders include omelets such as the meat lover’s and the Wisconsin cheese, biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, and a country sausage skillet. The hash browns and homemade toast get steady praise, and pie and cobbler turn up on the dessert list. Start with the cinnamon roll if you can only try one thing.
Rosie’s serves weekday breakfast and lunch starting early, with a shorter weekend schedule. It closes by 2 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on weekends, so check hours before you go. Reservations are not accepted. Bring cash or use the ATM on site. Parking is available in a large lot across the street or on the street, and the prices are low for a sit-down meal.
Address: 2225 16th St S, La Crosse, WI 54601
Website: sites.google.com/view/rosies-cafe-inc/home
Final Thoughts
Several of the dinner restaurants in this guide close on Sundays, and Le Chateau, Pogreba and Flatiron are also closed Mondays, so check each restaurant’s current hours before you plan an evening. Reservations are worth making at Digger’s Sting, Le Chateau, Pogreba and SAGRA, while Lovechild takes them only for larger parties and Flatiron does not require them. The breakfast spots such as the Breakfast Club & Pub and Rosie’s do not take reservations and close by mid-afternoon, and Rosie’s is cash only. The downtown restaurants sit close together, while JavaVino, Hungry Peddler and Rosie’s are a short drive away on the south side. If you visit during Oktoberfest, book dinner early.
Planning the rest of your trip? See our guide to the best things to do in La Crosse, WI.
Main photo, from left: Azzedine Rouichi, Markus Spiske and YesMore Content / Unsplash
